Chapter 100 - Opportunity for Advancement

Contrary to her delicate appearance, the blue-haired sister did not hesitate to attack, and Aoki was impressed by her sharp strikes.

She chanted a spell under her breath, waved her small white hand, and cold air suddenly spread out, quickly blanketing the test site.

When fighting a long-range magician, you cannot give the opponent too much preparation time.

Aoki stepped forward without hesitation, and his sharp fists met the opponent's chest without reluctance.

A hint of embarrassment crossed the beautiful lady's face.

She halted the magical assault she was launching and retreated to evade it.

At the same time, ice and snow flew from her slender fingers, forming a solid ice shield before her.

The ability to make it all the way to the finals is truly impressive.

Aoki praised her in his heart and launched an even fiercer offensive.

The blue-haired sister's magic was frequently interrupted, and she had no opportunity to use her powerful spells.

She could only wield instant ice blades and ice cones to attack Aoki from the sidelines.

The ice shimmering with blue magical light surged towards Aoki, who focused on picking up the thunder spear in his hand.

Just because he enjoyed being a warrior didn't mean he was ignorant of magic.

The ice sword was intercepted by the Thunder Spear midair, and the blue-haired sister was not discouraged.

She continued to defend herself with ice walls and ice shields, while searching for chances to strike Aoki.

Aoki had the upper hand, but he couldn't defeat his opponent swiftly.

In the ongoing tug-of-war, he gradually entered a mysterious state.

Magic, spirit, and body began to unify, allowing instinct to guide the battle while sharpening his perception.

For the first time, Aoki was able to clearly sense the "membrane."

As long as he could break through that membrane, he could reach a new realm.

However, until the blue-haired sister ran out of magic and willingly surrendered, he couldn't take that step.

With his mind filled with thoughts of breakthroughs, Aoki didn't even stop to collect his reward and quickly ran to the Occult Research Department amid the gazes of the onlookers.

After Aoki departed, discussions about him lingered for a long time.

After four months of training, he has reached the peak of B-level.

No matter where he goes, he is a monster-level genius.

If Aoki could transition to A-level, four months at that level would be among the best in the history of the human race.

"Buchou!" 

Pushing open the door to the activity room, Aoki anxiously looked for Rias, wanting to know what was going on in the last state. 

"Koneko, where are Buchou and the others?" 

The white-haired girl, eating tiramisu, slowly said, "Buchou and Akeno-senpai are going on a crusade mission." 

"…" 

Looking at Koneko

Aoki took a deep breath and gradually regained his composure. 

It seems that being stuck at the bottleneck for too long has made me a little impatient. 

This is not good… not good… 

After adjusting his mindset, Aoki sat down beside Bai Mao Loli, ignoring the murderous look in her eyes. He took a piece of tiramisu and threw it into his mouth. 

"Koneko, I just met you in a ranking battle…" 

While eating the sweet and soft tiramisu, he recounted what had just happened. 

As for the strange feeling of being at a bottleneck, Aoki decided to focus on describing it. 

"Well, I see. I didn't expect you to be a martial artist." 

Koneko swallowed the food in her little mouth and said without hesitation, "It's not a pity; an opponent of that level won't help you break through in battle." 

Aoki was stunned for a moment; an idea flashed through his mind, and he seemed to understand something. 

"Koneko, are breakthroughs in battles common?" 

The white-haired loli looked at him and said mercilessly, "It's not common. How can such a dangerous and uncertain method be common?" 

"Then why do you just…" 

"Because some people can only break through in battle, which is what I call the martial arts faction." 

Koneko took a sip of black tea and became Aoki's master again after many days. 

"Martial arts do not need to experience very dangerous battles improve. Whether it is a match of similar strength or guided actual combat training, as long as the opponent can put pressure on them, those people can break through. The greater the pressure, the more likely they are to break through." 

After a pause, he continued, "Also, once this kind of person encounters a life crisis, the probability of a breakthrough in battle is more than 90%." 

"Then why did I never feel this way when I was sparring with you?" 

The white-haired girl stared at Aoki for a long time and said softly, "Because you didn't consider it a battle."

"Well…"

Aoki subconsciously wanted to refute, but he didn't know how to express it. 

Thinking about it, Koneko was right. She truly didn't consider it a battle. There was no concept of victory or defeat in her mind at that moment. 

Not to mention the pressure... 

If he think about it carefully, isn't a breakthrough in battle just an explosive seed?! Isn't this treatment exclusive to the protagonist?! 

By the way, the master of suffering is also the master... There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with him having this characteristic. 

… 

Without Rias, Koneko helped Aoki resolve the doubts in his heart and find a way to break through the bottleneck. 

Next, as long as he keeps fighting — commonly known as finding a fight — he will soon be able to break through. 

"Thank you, Koneko." 

Aoki took a piece of tiramisu and handed it to the white-haired lolita's mouth. 

"Come on, open your mouth; this is my thanks." 

"What... Buchou obviously bought this for me. You just ate a piece, and I haven't confronted you yet..." 

Complaints are complaints, but Koneko still blushed and opened her pink lips to accept Aoki's offering. 

Her small lips brushed against Aoki's fingers, and the girl's pink face looked a little rosier. 

The small, soft tongue deftly swept the tiramisu in Aoki's hand, leaving the crystal-clear liquid behind. 

Feeling the moisture on his fingers, Aoki didn't mind. 

He cultivates with beautiful girls every day and has long been accustomed to this kind of ambiguous behavior. 

Now he wants to know more about where to find an opponent strong enough to make him feel like he is truly fighting. 

Aoki had a feeling that after reaching A-level and evolving his life essence, he would undergo great changes. 

Because just feeling the bottleneck, it seemed as if something was about to burst out of his body. 

Koneko chewed the tiramisu in her mouth and looked at Aoki with a flushed face. 

"If you want to fight, come back later and request a crusade mission with Buchou." 

The white-haired girl seemed to have guessed what Aoki was thinking and added, "I don't know why, but recently there have been more and more stray demons. You can ease our burden a little if you fight them." 

Aoki's eyes lit up; it was indeed a good idea, but it wouldn't be of much use if the opponent's strength was too low. 

"What is the strength of the stray demon?" 

"Normally between C and B-tier. There are A-tier ones as well, but they are very few." 

The white-haired loli thought for a moment and continued, "If you want to break through, it's best to carry out the crusade alone. With your strength, if you encounter an A-tier enemy that you can't defeat, there's no shame in running away."

As the two of them spoke, the bright red magic circle in the center of the activity room quickly took shape, and two tall, plump figures appeared in front of Aoki.

"Ara ara, Ao-chan is here too. Is the test over?"

Himejima Akeno's face was still flushed after the battle

It seemed she had a really good time this time.

"Buchou, Akeno-senpai."

After Aoki greeted them, he said, "The test is over, and by the way, I won first place in the ranking competition."

Rias looked at Aoki approvingly, "Not bad. Is there any reward you want?"

"No..." Aoki shook his head, "But I want to carry out the crusade alone."

"Oh? With your strength, you can undertake the crusade mission alone."

Rias asked curiously, "But there must be some reason you suddenly said that."

"Well, there is indeed a reason."

Aoki told the story of how he sensed the bottleneck again, and Rias and Akeno Himejima's reactions were similar to Koneko's.

Compared to ordinary practitioners, the number of pure martial arts sects is very small, but they do not go years without appearing.

Advances in battle are not exclusive to martial arts factions.

On the contrary, pure martial arts factions are at a disadvantage compared to others.

This type of person can only fight their way through combat, but they're not as dangerous as others.

Those who want to break through in battle often face life-or-death crises, while the martial arts faction doesn't have to.

However, this doesn't mean it's not dangerous.

It's not easy to find an opponent who can exert pressure without putting one's life in danger.

Situations like Aoki's are not uncommon.

The people around him are strong and willing to help, but he subconsciously doesn't think it's a battle.

In this way, there is no way to achieve the breakthrough requirements.

"In other words, even if I learn intermediate magic power extraction, I can't reach A-level?"

"No, it should be said that if you learn intermediate magic extraction and still can't break through to A-level, then you can rest assured that you can only advance through combat."

Rias explained, "This is the same as the perception of martial arts; it's more idealistic. No one dares to say that you are a pure martial artist until the results come out."